FAIL OF THE YEAR

AUGUST 6, 2015THE DAY THAT STARTED IT ALL

We use a lot of Axle Tech MRAP axles on our builds here at the shop. Because they are basically bomb proof. And like anything, the haters took note. “You guys would put MRAP’s on a Civic if given the chance.”, one fan commented on Instagram. So in response, we took our thrashed Maverick UTV body and set it on top of a pair of MRAP’s. You know, feed the fire.

And fire it fed. The image went viral overnight. By morning, the image was trending with a new hashtag – #FailOfTheYear. Anybody that has ever crossed paths with Heavy D knows that meant this project was about to receive a whole lot more attention. But slammed with SEMA and TV filming deadlines, the project was thrown on the back burner.

But instead of the flame burning out, it only burned hotter. Fans leaving comments like, “What happened to the fail? I guess it was the #failoftheyear.”, fueled the motivation to get this project back in the works. After noticing all the hype, Polaris stepped in and offered us a 2016 Turbo XP1000 to use as the platform. It was ON.

To locate and handle the massive axles, we needed to build a massive subframe. So naturally, we called in Joel and the team from Overkill Racing and Chassis. What they constructed needs to be seen to truly be appreciated. This one of a kind subframe bolts directly onto the chassis of the stock 2016 RZR. This means that with a little effort you could always take this machine back to its stock form (but why would you ever want to?).

The axles are located under the subframe via 4-link suspension, kept in check with the FOA 2.5″ coilovers and hydraulic bump stops. At each end of each axle sits massive 54″ tall Mickey Thompson TTC tires that are made for crushing any terrain. Turning is accomplished via an electric hydraulic pump that is housed in the subframe and provides hydraulic pressure to the rams that turn both the front and rear axles. Stopping is done with pinion brakes, featuring Wilwood calipers on both the front and rear drivelines, providing more than enough halting power for those massive tires.

To keep up with the power demand needed by the steering system, we installed a UTV Inc. alternator kit that stores power in two massive Odyssey batteries.

The Turbo RZR provides an astonishing amount of power in its stock form, but since we were going far from stock, we wanted to bump that power up as much as possible. Packard Performance is your one stop shop for UTV high performance builds, so we had the guys come down and throw on a bigger turbo, exhaust and exclusive tune just for us. Only the best.

The biggest factor we needed to overcome with this build was power (and its delivery). The guys at SCS really came through with a custom-built drop case that would take the power from the front drive output of the stock machine, reduce the gear ratio, split the power in two, and send it down the line to the MRAP Axle Tech 4000 axles. It’s simple engineering.

GlazzKraft is currently the only company offering legit fiberglass bodies for UTV’s and rightfully so. These body kits are gorgeous and are a huge improvement over the stock appearance. The SDR doors and the GlazzKraft kit turned out to be a match made in heaven. They look as if they were designed for each other. The kit and doors were sanded smooth and sent over to our paint booth for a coat of Heavy D’s favorite shade of grey.

Since we knew this thing would be seeing time in the rocks and diverse landscapes around Utah, we added an SDR front bumper, UTV Inc. cage, and UTV Inc. rear bumper – keeping that body kit safe and sound.

Inside, we ditched the stock seats for more comfortable PRP G.T’s and PRP 3″ 4- point harnesses keeping you locked in place no matter how rough the conditions.We threw in a Rockford Fosgate receiver and WetSounds tower speakers to bring the party wherever we go.

Heretic Studios rounds out the build with LED projector headlights, Billet taillights, LED cubes on the A-pillars and two LED bars. It’s safe to say that seeing after the sun goes down wont be an issue.

DieselSellerz & Sparks Motors,
Been watchn u bandits since first episode. I dnt even watch the tube normally, but you and your crew do killer work and are always doin awesome new ideas! I gotta say the show kicks ass, and then some!🤘🏻In my opinion that project was never a “Fail” of the year build… Even tho eventually you and them bandits owned that build as well!! You guys took a great idea, customizing trucks, big trucks, best yet diesel powered👍🏻 This is actually my first time posting.. Im not into the whole computer new age era lol!!